Within the last half century many explo ring parties have traversed the interior regions of America. The recent discoveries of trea sure in California have led to a new series of overland researches, some of them in con nection with a proposed railway.
British researches in North America have been chiefly directed to the examination of the western coast, under Cook, Clarke, Meares, Vancouver, &c; and to arctic or north-west expeditions. In 1818 the British government commenced that series of expeditions which, aided by the Hudson's Bay Company, and by private enterprize, and conducted by Parry, John and James Ross, Lyon, Franklin, Rich ardson, Beechey, Scoresby, Pease, Simpson, Ray, King, Back, and others, have resulted in those discoveries which have become such a source of public interest in this country. Would that we could close the mention of them with any announcement of the safety of Sir John Franklin and his enterprizing com panions! The exploratory researches in South Ame rica have not been so numerous as in the north ; but some of them have been of great value, both geographically and commercially : especially those of De la Condamine, Godin, Humboldt, Bonpland, Spix, and Martins.
When America was first discovered, a large part of it consisted of one vast forest, extend ing nearly from the Atlantic to the Missis sippi, and from the Canadian lakes to the Gulf of Mexico-2,000 miles in length, with an average breadth of 1,000. Most of this vast forest yet remains ; hut the tract west of the Mississippi contains extensive plains. These plains are devoid of trees ; but the lower parts of the Mississippi valley, with a por tion towards the north, are still covered with a dense forest, spread interminably like an ocean. The prairies of this valley are found both on the east and west side of the channel of the river; they are extensive, elevated, and generally irregular tracts, without trees, though sometimes capable of producing them, covered in the spring with countless flowers and long grass, and often possessing a deep rich soil.
South America is rich in mineral produce. Gold is found in New Granada, Peru, Chili, La Plata, and Brazil ; and diamonds have been for some time a part of the Brazilian exports. The silver mines in Peru are very rich, and in Chili there are mines of silver, lead, and sulphur; those of copper are still more abundant. There are mines of iron, sulphur, antimony, tin, lead, copper, and quick silver, in Brazil; but the pursuit of the pre cious metals appears to have diverted attention from other mining speculations. America also sends to Europe pearls and other precious stones.
In North America we find the bison, the musk ox, the reindeer, the wapiti, the Virgi nian deer, the elk, the long-tailed deer, and the black-tailed deer of the Rocky Mountains ; the Californian sheep, and the Rocky Moun tain Goat. The most remarkable forms of
American deer are the llamas, alpacas, and vicunas, which tenant the craggy Andes. Long previously to the arrival of Columbus, the llama was domesticated and used as a beast of burden by the natives ; its wool was manu factured into cloth, and its flesh supplied a wholesome food. Among the Rodents many are valuable as fur-bearing animals; of these we may notice the beaver, the musquash, the coypu, various species of squirrel, and the chinchilla of Peru and Chili. Many thousand skins of the beaver, of the musquash, and of squirrels, are annually imported into England from the northern regions of America; and an extensive trade in the skins of the coypu, im properly called nutria or otter, and also in those of the chinchilla, is carried on at Buenos Ayres. Bears are hunted by the fur traders for the sake of their skins, as are also various foxes, ermines, martins, polecats, wolverines or gluttons, lynxes and others. America now contains horses, horned cattle, sheep and goats ; but these have been introduced since the time of Columbus. Horses and cattle exist in many parts of South America in great numbers, and wild herds roam the plains. They abound also in Mexico, and the great prairies of the western portions of North America.
In the United States the forests consist of pines and larches unknown in Europe, many kinds of oaks, locust-trees, black walnuts of enormous size, hickories and ashes. Tobacco, maize, and wheat, are the staple objects of cultivation.
At about the latitude of Virginia the region of cotton and rice hogins. In the countries in and areund the gulf of Mexico, besides indigo, coffee, sugar-cane and maize, (which here finds its native home,) the cocoa-tree, from whose seeds chocolate is prepared, is a most important species; the exportation of the seeds of this plant, which is found wild in the most burning districts, is valued at near 80,0001. sterling annually. Pineapples grow wild in the woods; the American aloe yields, when wounded, an abundance of sweet fluid, which is fermented into an intoxicating drink called imlque, and distilled into an ardent spirit known by the name of Vino Mercal. In the low woods of Honduras are found enormous forests of mahogany and logwood trees. It is here also that the tamarind and the iig,nura vine are found, the vanilla, and the jalap eon volvulus. As we proceed farther and farther southward, the vegetable growth gradually changes, and all the rich and varied produce of South America meets the view.
Under the names of the chief countries, rivers, and towns of America, will be found sundry details illustrative of the produce, manufactures, find commerce of this great continent.